Oriënt Express (Vandersteen comic)/plot
A east European nuclear scientist, Sir Serge Borow, manages to smuggle himself into the British embassy at Istanbul and seeks political asylum. Biggles is sent out by Colonel Raymond to escort him home. But Biggles doesn't get to work alone. He is order to work with the secret service's youngest agent, one Helga Anderson. Raymond can't help it. She needs some training, he says, and orders are orders. Biggles is not terribly impressed by the appearance of Helga, what with her thick glasses and pig tails. He tells the pilot ferrying him to Istanbul to find the nearest mountain and crash into it! At the airport terminal in Istanbul, an itinerant coffee vendor secret snaps a photo of Biggles. He gives chase but the vendor escapes in a taxi. At the British embassy, Biggles discusses the case with the ambassador. There are dangers. It is known that Borow's political masters had hired an agency ACTA to ensure that Borow did not reach England alive. The photographer at the airport must have been an ACTA agent. This is hard enough. Biggles complains to the ambassador that he had been saddled with a young secret agent to look after, someone he calls a "silly goose" and a "clueless teenager". Just then someone in uniform comes into the room. It's the taxi driver who helped the coffee vendor escape! The driver removes her disguise and the ambassador laughs and introduces Biggles to Helga Anderson! Helga tells Biggles that his "silly goose" has seized the camera from the coffee vendor. The vendor has been locked up with a black eye. Biggles offers his apologies but the two are soon arguing about who is going to give the orders on the mission. Borow gets worried about whether he will get through the mission alive! The plan for the egress from Istanbul is put into effect. ACTA watches are misdirected by a pair of Biggles-Borow lookalikes who depart from the front door for the airport. Meanwhile, Biggles, Helga and Borow load up into a postal van which pulls into the rear of the building. The postal van is driven by a man named Youssef and they head towards the railway station where they have reservations on the Orient Express. Biggles soon discovers that they are being followed and that Youssef is driving too slowly. He points a gun at Youssef and demands that he speed up but they still can't shake the pursuing vehicle. Biggles tells Helga to take two smoke grenades from inside his case and toss them at the ACTA car behind them. This works. The car is blinded by the smoke and crashes into a pole. Biggles then binds up Youssef and chucks him out of the van before driving off to the station. After boarding the Orient Express, Biggles decides to have it out with Helga. The ambassador said she had vetted Youssef the driver. Had she? Helga admits that she had not. She thought that he could be trusted because the ambassador knew him. Biggles reprimands her angrily. Her negligence had almost cost Borow his life. If she did not obey instructions in the future, he would drop her off at the next stop. Biggles plans for him and Helga to take turns for dinner in the dining car while Borow gets his meal served in his compartment. Helga is with Borow when a hostess brings his dinner tray in. She accidentally spills something on Borow and asks Helga to get a towel. Just as Helga steps into her own compartment, the hostess whips out a syringe and tries to inject it into Borow! Helga comes back and gets a shock. She quickly knocks the syringe from the hostess' hand and they get into a scuffle. The hostess gains the upper hand and soon retrieves her syringe and threatens Helga. Just then, Biggles comes back and overpowers the hostess. He takes her out to the train conductor but the hostess breaks free and jumps off the train. Biggles is displeased that Helga blundered again and decides to send her off the train at the next stop. He will continue on his own. A disappointed Helga goes to the dining car for her dinner. There she overhears two men ask the waiter about the hostess. Helga links the two men to the incident and thinks she might get a chance to redeem her mistakes. She gets the compartment of the two men from the waiter and goes there to search their belongings but bad luck! The two men come back and take her prisoner. Helga's captors slip a note to Biggles. The train will slow down when crossing a bridge in an hour's time. Biggles must surrender Borow to them or Helga will be killed. The deadline approaches but Biggles still does not respond. The two men get impatient and one of them knocks at Borow's compartment. Biggles holds the man at gunpoint. With this deadlock, he might be able to prevent anything from happening to Helga. But the man says if he doesn't return to his partner in a set time, his partner will act. Meanwhile Borow decides to take matters into his own hands. He whips out a pistol and fires a gas projectile which knocks out both the man and Biggles momentarily. Borow then runs out of his compartment. Biggles comes to and finds out from the conductor that Borow has just jumped off the train! The train is already slowing down and he hears a helicopter approaching. He climbs up on the roof and finds Helga being hauled up by a rope onto the helicopter. Biggles exchanges fire with the two men and injures one of them but the other gets away. The injured man tells Biggles he is going to die but does want to do something to make good. He says that Helga is being brought to some ruins outside of Zagreb. Biggles makes a report on what has happened to Raymond and then steps off the train at Zagreb. A porter meets him and tells him he is Agent 84 sent by London. They have no news of Borow but he has arranged a hired car for Biggles. Biggles steps in and they drive off. Biggles immediately whips out his gun on the driver. Nobody knew he was going to step off the train at Zagreb. How could London have agents waiting for him? They must be from ACTA! Biggles forces the driver to head for the ruins but the driver deliberately crashes the car into a ravine. There is a brief scuffle and Biggles overpowers the dirver but the car is no longer serviceable. Biggles manages to hitch a ride in a lorry but they are soon stopped by a policeman on a motorbike. He orders Biggles off the truck and into some nearby woods. As Biggles suspects, the policeman acknowledges that he is from ACTA and he prepares to execute Biggles. Just then, there is a rifleshot from somewhere and the policeman falls to the ground. Biggles searches but can't find his mystery ally anywhere. As darkness falls, Biggles approaches and sneaks into the ruins. In a cellar, he finds Helga tied to a chair. There are three guards, all playing guards. He takes them by surprise and holds them up with his gun. He forces one of them to release Helga but one of the others flicks his pack of cards at Biggles. There is a major scuffle between Biggles and the three men but finally all the enemies are disposed of. Biggles and Helga climb out of the ruins but hear the ACTA helicopter approaching. His gun is now empty but he manages to trick the pilot into surrendering. Biggles orders Helga to get the gun from the pilot but she accidentally steps into the line of fire and the pilot seizes the opportunity and dives for cover. The pilot fires at them but is surprised that there is no return fire and soon concludes that Biggles is out of ammunition. Biggles tells Helga to run off but she refuses to let him sacrifice himself. The pilot takes both of them prisoner and prepares to execute them but there is another rifle shot and the pilot falls. From among some rocks steps Borow with a sniper rifle! Biggles is surprised but Borow says there is no time for explanations. They must first take the ACTA helicopter to the border where an aircraft to London awaits. On the way, Borow explains that he had jumped off the train to mislead ACTA. He then found the location of the ruins in a letter on the man which Biggles had killed. Back in London, Raymond greets everybody but he addresses Borow as Morgins. Biggles is puzzled. Helga explains that Morgins is also an agent. The real Borow has long been brought to London. Their mission was to serve as a diversion for ACTA. Helga then removes her glasses and lets down her hair. What an occupation, Biggles declares. He yearns for a quieter job. He then does the unthinkable and asks Helga to marry him! Category:Plot summaries (derivative works)